Leg brace



April 5, 1955 R. T. HICKERSON LEG BRACE Filed Jan. 11, 1954 I N V EN TOR.

m m Hiake Yson Y MM United States Patent LEG BRACE Ruric T. Hickerson, Little Rock, Ark., assignor to R. T. Hickerson, Inc., a corporation of Arkansas Application January 11, 1954, Serial No. 403,147

3 Claims. (Cl. 128-430) This invention relates to improvements in the brace construction shown in Letters Patent No. 2,632,439, issued to me on March 24, 1953. In the use of my device aforesaid, it has been found desirable to protect the operative mechanism from the corrosive effects of accidental excretions with which some spastic patients are afiiicted. Under such conditions the metal is frequently attacked to such point that the interlocking members actually jamb or lock and prevent free swinging of the legs.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for preventing locking of the parts when the patient twists or rotates a leg around its longitudinal axis, which causes the interlocking parts to cock or twist and bind. Some patients have so little muscular control that when this occurs they must have outside assistance to free the mechanism.

With the general objects named in view and others as will hereinafter appear, the invention consists in certain new and useful features of construction and or ganization of parts as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be fully understood, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a brace embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmental side elevation of the upper part of the brace.

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross section through the interlocking parts of the invention.

Figure 4 is an enlarged side view 'of the upper end of one part of the device to show the non-locking or binding features.

In the said drawing, where like reference characters identify corresponding parts in all of the figures, 1 is the brace members for each leg of a patient, said braces being usually connected at their upper end by pivotal joints 2 to a body frame 3. The joints 2 are located in substantially the plane of the hip joints of the patient.

As in my previous patent, the braces are interlocked just below the crotch, one of said braces being provided with an inverted U-shaped guide 4 which forms a pair of coplanar horizontally spaced vertically facing tracks and an overlying horizontal track formed by the U-bend. Said tracks are of arcuate form in side view, by preference, and the other brace is provided with an upwardly projecting offset strap 5, and may be formed with a T-head 6 received within the guide 4.

As the braces swing back and forth as in walking the head 6 insures that the braces will be maintained in relative parallel planes and that there will be no crossover or scissoring as in abduction or spreading apart as in adduction. Such muscular reactions are involuntary on the part of the patient.

As most patients tend to scissor their legs, it has proven desirable to provide the head 6 with a ball 7 so located 2,705,491 Patentedl Apr. 5, 1955 ice that its operating face may concurrently contact a vertical track and the horizontal track provided by the guide 4 under some conditions. With this arrangement normal friction incident to parallel leg movement is taken up by the ball 7 and if there is vertical displacement of the brace members, the ball 7 will also contact the horizontal overlying track.

With many patients it has been found that the interlocking parts are subject to torsion or twist which rocks the head 6 against the opposite vertically facing tracks or sides or guide 4 and sometimes jambs the parts particularly if subject to corrosion. To overcome this condition a pair of parallel rollers mounted on spaced vertical shafts, are journaled in the head 6, said rollers concurrently riding opposite sides or tracks when the parts are canted or twisted, the incident friction being readily overcome by the average patient.

From the above description and drawing it will be apparent that I have produced a construction embodying all of the features of advantage set forth as desirable, and while I have described and illustrated the preferred construction, it is to be understood that I reserve the right to all changes within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A leg brace comprising a pair of brace members adapted to swing with the legs, a guide comprising a pair of horizontally spaced vertically facing tracks carried by one brace member, an interlocking member carried by the other brace, and a pair of parallel rollers carried by the interlocking member, the axes of said rollers being spaced apart longitudinally of the tracks, each of said rollers being adapted for concurrent engagement with one of the tracks upon relative twisting movement of the brace members.

2. A leg brace comprising a pair of brace members adapted to swing with the legs, an inverted U-gnide providing a pair of horizontally spaced. vertically facing tracks and an overlying horizontal track carried by one brace member, an interlocking member carried by the other brace, a pair of parallel rollers carried by the interlocking member, the axes of said rollers being spaced apart longitudinally of the tracks, each of said rollers being adapted for concurrent engagement with one of the vertical tracks upon relative twisting movement of the brace members, and a ball roller mounted in the top of said interlocking member and adapted for rolling contact with the horizontal track upon relative vertical movement of the brace members.

3. A leg brace comprising a pair of brace members adapted to swing with the legs, an inverted U-shaped guide providing a pair of horizontally spaced vertically facing tracks and an overlying horizontal track carried by one brace member, an interlocking member carried by the other brace member, and a ball-bearing mounted in the upper end of the interlocking member and having exposed working surfaces for concurrent engagement with the horizontal and vertical tracks of the inverted U-guide.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hickerson Mar. 24, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES 

